THE Autumn Potato Bake, featuring sweet balsamic relish and the best of basics: vegan gravy

A baked sweet potato– open faced– topped with a thick warm gravy, grilled autumn veggies and a tangy sweet balsamic relish. This was more of a creation to rid my fridge of last weeks groceries, but it makes for an excellent comfort food for brisk september nights. It is a sweet and savoury farm to table meal that can impress a guest or simply satisfy your autumn tummy grumble.

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes

1/4-1/2 c Zucchini sliced thin

1/4-1/2 c Squash sliced thin

1/4-1/2 c eggplant sliced thin

1 pepper of your choice sliced

basil to top

1/2 an avocado sliced

1/2 tsp thyme

2 tablespoons coconut oil (or other)

For the Gravy

1 1/4 tbs vegan butter (I use earth balance)

1/8 c flour

3/4 c veg broth

1 tbs soy sauce

1/8 tsp black pepper

some thyme

For the relish

1 tbsp olive oil

2 onions (red or otherwise, I used a mixture of white and sweet)

1/2 tsp salt

2 lrg cloves garlic

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/6th c balsamic vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS

Start by preheating your oven to 400f

wrap your potato in foil and put in the oven for approximately 1 hour.

While your potato is baking, start you relish. Recipe: here (I cut the portions in half to avoid having a ton of leftover)

While your onions are in the pan, heat coconut oil and thyme in another large frying pan. Add Zucchini, Squash, eggplant, and pepper. Let grill on low heat–flipping occasionally–for aprox. 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make your gravy.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan and whisk with flour.

Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until thick (will take longer than you think, DONT ADD MORE FLOUR)

Now your veggies are grilling, your gravy is thick, and your potatoes are nearly baked. Finish the relish recipe off and assemble; Cut potato in half, smear both faces with gravy and top with veggies. Relish across the top and finish with avocado and torn basil. Serve hot and enjoy 🙂